Roger Federer: A tale of dominance at Gerry Weber Open in Halle
World No 1 to face Aljaz Bedene in first round of ATP 500 event in Germany. Watch live coverage throughout the week on Sky Sports Arena.
Wednesday 20 June 2018 13:36, UK
Roger Federer heads to Halle targeting a 10th title at the Gerry Weber Open, fresh from returning to the summit of the men's game.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion secured his maiden Mercedes Cup title last week to mark a successful start to the grass-court campaign after not featuring since the Miami Open in March.
Federer's long-time rival Rafael Nadal extended his record of wins by a men's player at a single tournament, after securing 11th titles at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open and French Open.
The Swiss great could move closer to that figure with another triumph this week - he defeated Aljaz Bedene in the first round on Tuesday and faces world No 47 Benoit Paire on Wednesday.
Here we take a look at his past successes and its impact pre-Wimbledon...
2003
Federer, aged 21, won his first grass-court title to join a select group of active players to have won on all four surfaces.
The then world No 5 gained a measure of revenge for his defeat against Nicolas Kiefer in the semi-finals the year before with a convincing straight-sets win against the German to secure his fourth title of the year.
Victory in Halle provided the perfect build-up for Federer to create the headlines at Wimbledon as he claimed his first Grand Slam title with a flawless display against big-serving Mark Philippoussis.
2004
The defending champion underlined his status as the best active player on grass as he progressed through the draw without dropping a set to reach the final.
Federer made it back-to-back Halle titles with a comprehensive victory against Mardy Fish in the final to provide the ideal preparation for his Wimbledon defence.
After dropping only one set on his path to the final at the All England Club, he recovered from losing the opening set to world No 2 Andy Roddick to win a pivotal third set on a tiebreak before closing out the match to secure a third Grand Slam - after victory earlier in the season at the Australian Open.
2005
Federer made it a third consecutive Gerry Weber Open with a thrilling three-set victory against a resurgent Marat Safin.
The encounter was a repeat of their Australian Open semi-final five-set blockbuster which Safin won on his way to a second Grand Slam success but Federer enacted some revenge with a determined triumph, despite losing the second set on a tiebreak.
The 23-year-old joined Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg as the only players to win three Wimbledon titles in a row in the Open era as he secured a repeat victory over Roddick on Centre Court.
2006
After an extended quarter-final victory over Olivier Rochus where three tiebreaks were needed, Federer made it a fourth successive Halle triumph with victory against Tomas Berdych in three sets.
Victory over the Czech saw him secure a 38th career title and match Bjorn Borg's 41 consecutive victories on grass.
Federer reached his fourth Wimbledon final in a row without losing a set and in the final ended a run of five consecutive defeats to Rafael Nadal to reign supreme in London once again.
2008
After missing the Gerry Weber Open in 2007, Federer returned to Halle to secure a fifth title at the event.
Federer defeated German home hope Philipp Kohlschreiber in the final and his victory was made remarkable as he went through the tournament without losing serve all week.
The Wimbledon final saw Federer and Nadal meet for a third consecutive time in the showpiece in what is remembered as one of the greatest Grand Slam finals of all time.
The pair were involved in a dramatic contest, affected by rain, with Nadal holding off an enthralling comeback from the Swiss to win in five sets and secure a first major victory away from Roland Garros.
2013
Federer returned to the winners' circle for the first time in nearly a year as he ended a five-year hiatus without victory at Halle, as he defeated a stubborn Mikhail Youzhny in three tight sets.
The 31-year-old's victory against the Russian was the first time the then former world No 1 had come back from a set down to win an ATP title.
Despite arriving as Wimbledon defending champion, Federer suffered a shock second-round exit to Sergiy Stakhovsky, who adopted an old school serve and volley policy to great effect, in front of a stunned Centre Court crowd.
2014
Victory over Alejandro Falla secured Federer a seventh Halle title and his 14th grass-court tournament success.
Colombian Falla had memorably served for the match when the pair had met in 2010 but the Swiss recovered to win in five sets and this time around two tiebreaks were needed in the pair's seventh meeting.
Federer's quest for a record eighth Wimbledon crown was prolonged as Novak Djokovic reclaimed the world No 1 ranking from Nadal with a dramatic five-set victory against the Swiss.
2015
Federer secured a record eighth Halle success as he overcame Andreas Seppi in straight sets to become only the third player, joining Guillermo Vilas and Nadal, in the Open era to have won a tournament eight times.
The 33-year-old fended off four break points in the match against the Italian to complete ideal preparation for a first Grand Slam triumph since Wimbledon in 2012.
Once again Federer came up just short in the Wimbledon final as he suffered a repeat defeat to Djokovic, as the Serb won a ninth major title
2017
Federer underlined his renaissance in form with an emphatic display to destroy rising star Alexander Zverev in the Halle final and maintain his unbeaten record from his four title matches during the season.
The 35-year-old Swiss had faced questions over the impact his decision to skip the entirety of the clay court campaign would have ahead of Wimbledon but those were quickly quashed despite having suffered a surprise early exit in Stuttgart the week before.
After years of disappointment on the Grand Slam scene, Federer finally became the first man to win Wimbledon eight times after he completed a perfect fortnight at the All England Club with a resounding victory over Marin Cilic.
We are in Germany for the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, live on Sky Sports Arena all this week.
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